Katy Perry and Russell Brand’s Divorce Was a Long Time Coming

Case in point: Katy Perry and Russell Brand. Their split seemed to come about suddenly (there were hardly even rumors of trouble until December 2011), but it turns out the pair had problems from the get go.

TMZ reports that the pair were initially infatuated with one another, leading to a whirlwind romance with a subsequent speedy engagement and Bollywood-style blow out wedding in India. A source told TMZ that the duo were head over heels not only with one another, but with the idea of being with their “extreme opposite.” While those types of relationships start out hot, they often combust — and Perry and Brand were no exception.

The source says that shortly after their wedding, the cute former-couple had fallen into a pattern of “constant bickering” in public, including at clubs and award shows. (Since magazines and gossip columnists have “spies” at these locations all the time, it’s not surprising that stories of marital discord emerged.)

The most common arguments revolved around Perry’s partying. Brand, a sober former addict, is “much more of a homebody” than Perry, who like her pal Rihanna, has publicly admitted to her affinities for booze and bars. Brand “didn’t enjoy the scene at all” and would often want to leave parties and events early — leading to arguments with his outgoing, bubbly wife. The New York Post reports that Brand even asked Perry to “tone it down” and felt that Rihanna was a poor influence on Perry. (Rihanna has been suffering health problems and cancellations on tour due to her hard partying habits, so he may have a point.)

Brand also wanted to settle down and start a family, while Perry didn’t want to take time away from her career for kids yet. Add those tensions to their hectic schedules and loads of time apart (the Daily Mail reports that the couple only lived together for about six weeks of their marriage), and it simply didn’t work.

There’s no bad blood between the California Gurl and her former Brit, though, and neither one suspects the other of cheating. Says TMZ, “It was just a bad pairing.”